LOUIS XIII, a luxury cognac producer, introduces THE DROP, a collection of bottles aimed at a new generation of cognac drinkers. THE DROP is made up of 10 milliliter portable glass bottles filled with a cognac blend and designed to be drunk straight from the bottle. This is a novel approach for LOUIS XIII, whose premium liquor is usually served in hand-blown decanters.
The collection is sold in a box of five bottles, each with a color-coded cap that represents a different mindset or mood: Loud, Glow, Bold, Smooth, and Bright. THE DROP embodies on-the-go fashion by encouraging spontaneity, as the mini bottles can be worn as an accessory. Connoisseurs can incorporate LOUIS XIII into their outfits by using leather holsters and shoulder straps that match the color-coded bottle cap.
Ferracina envisages this new product as something to be consumed communally, “wherever” you may be: “The idea is to have a celebration of this Louis XIII moment with a group of friends…You do a tasting together”.
“Thinking a century ahead”, as the company’s motto goes, has been key to its success in making its Cognac and in ensuring the continued success of the brand, according to Ferracina: “Louis XIII is a positive tension between tradition and modernity…We are leaving the present moment with an expertise that is coming from the past.”
For a brand that prides itself on being premium, offering a lower entry point might run the risk of undermining that prestige. However, Ferracina argued that an assessment was made beforehand to ensure that The Drop would be to the benefit of Louis XIII: “The quality of the product, the quality of the liquid, and all the attention we have given The Drop is exactly the same as we gave to the creation of the Louis XIII collection”.
“We are not going to overwhelm the market with The Drop,” Ferracina continued, “We have concern of scarcity of coming from the fact that we don’t have enough liquid for everyone. So we are not going to sell The Drop everywhere. It is a new opportunity to recruit a different customer profile that is never going to be detrimental to our existing line.”
